Donovan Mitchell injured but Darius Garland leads Cavaliers past Pelicans

CLEVELAND — Darius Garland scored 30 points, Jarrett Allen added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied in the fourth quarter with star Donovan Mitchell injured on the bench to beat the road-weary New Orleans Pelicans 113-103 on Monday.

Mitchell scored 11 points in 22 minutes before sitting out the fourth with a strained left groin.

The Cavs were down 81-78 entering the final 12 minutes before Garland made a 3-pointer and fed Allen for a dunk as Cleveland blitzed New Orleans 16-2 to start the period and open an 11-point lead.

The Pelicans were still within striking distance when Garland dropped a pair of 3s in the final two minutes to put them away. Garland scored 25 and added eight of his 11 assists in the second half.

Evan Mobley added 19 points as Cleveland improved to 19-4 at home.

The Pelicans were once again without stars Zion Williamson (strained hamstring) and Brandon Ingram (bruised toe) due to injuries. New Orleans has managed to stay competitive despite missing 46 points per game from those two.

C.J. McCollum scored 25 and and Jonas Valanciunas had 22 and 13 rebounds for the Pelicans, who went 2-3 on a five-game, 10-day trip.

McCollum has had to carry the scoring load with Williamson and Ingram out. He only had four points at half before scoring 14 in the third quarter to help the Pelicans carry a lead into the fourth.

That’s when the Cavs buckled down on defense and Garland went to work.

Mitchell started slowly before asserting himself late in the first half, scoring nine points and making a 3-pointer in the final second to pull the Cavs within 50-47 at the break.

Minute by minute

While guard Ricky Rubio’s return from knee surgery is a major positive for the Cavs, it also presents some challenges for coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who must balance getting him playing time at the expense of other reserves.

He’s tinkering with rotation combinations, and that may mean someone’s going to lose minutes.

“Sometimes it’s frustrating. All the guys want to play, and they proven they’re capable,” he said. “But sometimes they all can’t.”

Tip-ins

Pelicans: Williamson has missed the past seven games, and the team hasn’t given a firm timetable on his return due to the unpredictable nature of his injury. … Ingram has only played in 15 games after missing 27 last season. … G/F Herb Jones (lower back bruise) missed his third game in a row.

Cavaliers: Rubio played 17 minutes in his first home game in 386 days. … F Kevin Love, whose name will undoubtedly surface in upcoming trade speculation because of his expiring contract, has been in a prolonged shooting slump. He went 0 of 4 on 3-pointers and is 3 of 21 from long range in his past six games. … F Dean Wade (sprained shoulder) was close to returning after missing more than a month, but recently rolled his ankle when he stepped on someone’s foot during a 1-on-1 drill in rehab.

Up next

Pelicans: Host Miami on Wednesday.

Cavaliers: At Memphis on Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen lead Cavaliers over Pelicans